Soul ink DL Barno

PHILADELPHIA (October 10, 2011) – The Philadelphia Soul have re-signed defensive lineman Dustin Barno  for the 2012 season.  Barno, who will enter his eighth AFL season, played with the Soul last season where he finished with 19.0 total tackles, 5.5 sacks and two safeties.

“We identified Dustin as one of the core players from last year team that we wanted to make sure we had in place as build a championship team,” said Soul general manager Tom Goodhines.  “He was a big part of the reason why we had the No. 2 defense (in yards allowed) in 2011 and will be an important part of our pass rush this season.”

Barno, who became his AFL career in 2004, played four-plus seasons with the Colorado Crush before finishing the 2008 season with the Arizona Rattlers.  In 2005, he was a member of Colorado’s ArenaBowl championship team.  The standout defensive lineman tallied 80 solo tackles, 64 assisted tackles, 26.0 sacks, 14 pass breakups, seven forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and five blocked kicks over his AFL career.




“Dustin is one of the elite defensive linemen in Arena Football,” said Soul head coach Doug Plank.  “He’s extremely versatile and offenses will have to account for him playing all front positions.  He has a motor that doesn’t quit and he will be a big part of our success on defense.”

During his four years at East Stroudsburg State (1999-2002), the Easton, Pa. native tallied 143 tackles, 17.5 sacks and 36 tackles-for-a-loss.  He was named the NSCA 2003 Strength-and-Conditioning Athlete of the Year and also named to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference First-Team Defense (in both 2001 and 2002).

Barno played in the 2003 Cactus Bowl, setting a bowl record with two sacks.  As a senior, he posted 45 tackles (26 solo), 11 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.  He finished junior season tied for No. 4 in the conference with 7.0 sacks and finished with 39 tackles, 10 for a loss.  As a sophomore, he totaled 46 tackles, 5.0 sacks and 12 tackles for loss and appeared in nine games as a freshman in 1999.